Rio Sport S30S (64 MB) MP3 Player

Pros: Lightweight, Easy-to-Use, Simple Software, FM tuner, Good Quality Sound, can recharge through USB
Cons: without the rechargable battery you only get about 6 hours of playtime

An easy to use and carry MP3 player, Sonic Blue’s RioSPORT 64MB MP3 Player is a worth it’s low price for anyone looking for a player that can play both digital music and receive FM radio stations. If my partner can figure out how to use the ...

Pros: Easy-to-use interface, perfect size, belt clip, simple software, expandable storage, radio tuner
Cons: Short battery life, belt clip leaves permanent scratches on player surface, limited title assortment options

If you're looking for a decent mid-range MP3 player packed with options, look no further. While yo ...

Pros: Great size and weight. Easy to use. A fine and simple Mp3 player.
Cons: Next-to-nothing memory storage. Radio reception is a joke.

Sure, it doesn't have the 'buzz' factor that an iPod would, but this player is perfect for a workout. Size matters. One thing I really appreciate in electronics is when they are designed for 'human hands'. Tiny buttons drive me out of my ...

Pros: Compact size, Expandability to 576MB, Lightweight, Stopwatch, Firmware upgrades, Looks great!
Cons: FM Tuner not that great (even with new firmware) Included headphones have marginal sound

I finally started getting into the MP3 scene a month or so ago after I started getting into burning my own mixes on CD. The idea of getting an MP3 player came after I got tired of the random music than the gym that I went to played. I just can't...

Pros: Small and light, great for workouts...quality of sound very good
Cons: Battery life,uncomfortable earphones,fm tuner ok but not great

I just purchased this unit 3 days ago and I am thrilled with the sound and portability compared to my cd player. Eventually I will probably purchase a hard drive unit for the larger memory but right now I am too cheap to buy one of those so I went for ...

Pros: One of the few "sport MP3 players" with a belt clip.
Cons: Poorly designed controls.

I bought this product 3 months ago. As a former electronics products tester and a runner/gym rat who works out at least 4-5 times per week, I've come to despise this poorly engineered product. It certainly wasn’t designed with the fitness enthus ...

Pros: Cheap, Expandable, Functional
Cons: Breaks easily, Included software sucks, buttons and menus akward

This is a great player for the price, it works and sounds great, and that is all that matters, right? I totally agree, but there are a few problems that kill this little MP3/WMA player's glory. All have been mentioned so far, and I am pretty sure ...

Pros: Decent sound, small compact, memory upgradable.
Cons: FM radio, belt clip.

I bought this MP3 player at Best Buy for $34.00 on clearance. This is a great player and perfect for my needs, which is to be able to listen to MP3's while I run. The price was unreal so I purchased a 256 MB SD memory chip to go with it. The good: ...

Pros: Small , Upgradeable to 574 MB, Great sound , price, headphones, good battery life.
Cons: Armband not suitable for smaller arms.

I bought one of these great little machines about a week ago at a local electronics store. It's bee ...

Pros: Small, Compact, Style, Great Screen, Easy to use, Lightweight
Cons: Low Internal Memory, FM Tuner, Headphones aren't the best

I researched a lot of MP3 players and finally decided on this one. The only downside, in my mind, was the low internal memory. But I am on my computer a lot and figured it would be no big deal just deleting songs I no longer wanted on there and then...

Pros: Quality for the price. We bought two, one for my wife and myself.
Cons: Minor Cons with unit, can be overlooked.

I like it alot for the price, $59.99 at Wally World. It has a lockout for accidental bumping of controls, backlight w/adjustable ON time, Scrolling Display, Equalizer with presets like Jazz, Rock etc. w/separate bass n treble adjustments, digital ...

Pros: Value, sound, utility. A lot of "bang" for the buck.
Cons: Radio reception, and the bizantine Realone software that came with the unit.

I bought this player for my daughter several years ago. She complained it didn't have a lot of memory for her songs so I bought her a 128Mb SD card. She used the player for a while and then it ended up in a drawer. This year for the holidays she ...

Pros: Great for active people, good product for the cost, comes with extra card.
Cons: Problems with the computer software, battery doesn't last long.

I got the RioSPORT S30S 64MB MP3 Player for Christmas of 2003, and I've been using it ever since. I am an active guy, I play volleyball, go to the gym, and do other outdoor activities, so I just couldn't use a CD Player for my tunes. With that ...

Pros: Inexpensive, good ergonomics, easy to use, expandable memory, light weight, built in FM radio
Cons: The carrying case and ear buds

I bought an MP3 player so I could listen to music while running. The Rio s30s serves this purpose well. If you buy it at Costco, it's $77 and comes with a free 32mb MMC. The good: inexpensive, good ergonomics, rubberized outer shell (keeps sweat ...

Pros: Light, comfortable, easy to use, reasonable battery life.
Cons: FM Tuner doesn't always work.

I had an S10 Rio originally. Decided it was time to upgrade. So, I waited until I found a good price on eBay, and got it. I was pleased with the fact that it used the same soft wear as my old product, which aided to the ease of understanding of the ...

Pros: Size, Durability, doesn't skip
Cons: FM Reception, Headphones

I was in the market for an MP3 player to take the gym and go running with. I was tired of my bulky CD player that skipped when I ran. I settled on the S30 because it had an FM tuner and it was gym ready.

I really wanted an FM tuner because...

Pros: awesome sound quality, easy to setup and use, great for working out
Cons: short battery life

I needed a player to run and play Raquetball with, something I could drop without it breaking. I ne ...

Pros: SD1GB no prob, great batt life, terrific sound, lightweight, great plastic carrying case and armband.
Cons: Not plug nplay, needs Music program 2transfer music, difficult 2get into HOLD mode and out.

When I saw the Rio S30S 64MB, its sporty design, battery life, and specifically the carrying case and optional armband accessory, I decided to purchase my first MP3 player ever - I still have it! I needed something like this especially since I bike ...

Pros: Ease of use, size of unit.
Cons: Cheap case and belt clip.

I purchased the Rio S30S in 12/03 and have loved using it at the local gym ever since. I do agree with other reviewers regarding the poor FM reception, and the navigation buttons getting bumped a lot. The most frustrating piece of this product is the ...

Pros: None other than they didn't physically come to my house and violate me.
Cons: Lousy quality, customer service is a joke, 100% horrible product.

I made the HUGE mistake of purchasing one of these pieces of garbage on EBay. It was listed as factory remanufactured and came in a sealed box marked as such. I was very excited as MP3 players has previously been out of my price range. So when the box ...

Pros: Has a radio, nice amount of space for music.
Cons: It eats up batteries, takes 2 much time 2 download music.

I got this product for my birthday just a couple months ago. It worked pretty good, I didn't download any songs because there was so much to download & even when I did download everything, it still wouldn't download the songs to the player. That didn't...

Pros: I love that i can have the artist, song, length of song,and backlight.
Cons: I don't like that that it can only hold about 17-21 songs, only.

This small, compact MP3 Player is almost perfect for me. I love the color it comes in(red),in which ...

Pros: Size, LCD, MMC/SD Expandability, Belt Clip
Cons: Will not read standard SD cards without formatting, Menu controls

This product is relatively decent if the target application is light workouts. The plastic belt-clip housing makes it difficult to adjust the volume during workouts so it's best applied to an activity where the surrounding noises do not change volumes. ...

Pros: FM Radio, Good maximum volume, Easy to learn interface, very expandable, clear display
Cons: Buggy interface

With the new firmware upgrade it can be upgraded to handle a 512mb chip, in addition to the included 64mb of memory.
Great range of features for the price..
Took a few turns to get everything up and going..Occasionally holding down the enter...

Pros: Size, expandability, price, software, durable
Cons: Menu design, battery life

The Rio sport is a great audio device for active people. I bought two: one for me and one for my girlfriend. She is an avid runner, and appreciates the size and ability to strap it to her arm. The memory size is also adequate for most joggers. She...

Pros: none there is nothing good about this
Cons: battery life, amount of songs held, fm tuner, earphones

if you're interested in buying this product, take some time and THINK. It can only hold about 18 songs even when u spend an extra hundred on 256mb extra it can only hold 90 songs all together. For the extra hundred or so get the ipod i just returned...

Pros: Sleek small design easy to take anyplace. Great sound. Easy to operate.
Cons: The FM tuner does not get some stations. Easy to loose

This small little MP3 player is smaller than the size of a coaster you would put your drink on. This awesome device has a 64 mb internal memory with a bay to add more which is a good thing to store more songs. It also has a built in stop watch which is...

Pros: Lightweight, expandable memory, great sound, very durable.
Cons: Short battery life, limited internal memory, fm tuner not that great.

Even with the cons it is the best money I have spent. I purchased a refurbished one from sonicblue. ...

Pros: Compact, lightweight, easy to use
Cons: A little pricey for the amount of memory.

This is the first MP3 player I have purchased. The main reason I bought this one is that it was the only in my price range that Best Buy had left that also had an FM tuner.

I am very happy with this purchase. The software was really easy to use...

Pros: plays mp3
Cons: fm tuner needs strong signal, not usb-powered, flimsy case

unit worked ok for months, then the internal flash memory disappeared, and as result it will not retain any settings. every time i power-on, i have to set language, etc. only my sd card memory is visible. fm reception nowhere as good as my old sony walkman (dx mode). flimsy case splits open when dropped (it's a sport model, right?)

you can't use this like a flashdrive, unless you make sure you have spare batteries.

Pros: worked for a while
Cons: no excuse for the problems

When I first bought this I was happy with my purchase. At some point around 9 months into it I got the dreaded "upgrader" error. After talking with their support their only suggestion was to buy a refurbished unit. I am finished with Rio. I can't imagine why there is no fix for this. The tech told me I corrupted it with my music files because they had "degraded". Does that make sense to you? Avoid rio for the potential upgrader problem or until they face some responsibility.

Pros: Upgradeable, small, lightweight
Cons: By now, has probably been eclipsed by other models with more unnecessary bells and whistles.

After shopping around and comparing features, I bought this player for my wife about 2 years ago. I still think it's a great product.

Here are the features that sold me:
Rubberized coating - no metal to scratch, no wasted weight, dropable
Upgradeable memory - It comes with 64MB on board and can be easily upgraded with SD cards
Replaceable batteries - AAA, I'm not a fan of being captive to a rechargeable, especially when it wears out.
AM/FM Reception
Light weight - Nobody wants to jog with a heavy device

Granted, it doesn't do other things that some players now do, like take pictures, play games, store photos, make calls, etc. But, when you're on the jogging trail, those features aren't used and simply add weight.

Pros: When it worked those few time it seemed neat.
Cons: Piece of garbage.

I am on my 2nd Rio Sport and it sucks. After very minimal use, it locked up on startup, displaying the message "USB Connected...Waiting", even though no USB is connected! You can turn it off and on 10 times and it thinks the USB is connected, rendering the device useless.

So I took it back and got another one. I used it once, and now I am getting the same exact behavior from unit #2.

This device is totally unreliable and as far as I am concerned it is a piece of garbage.

Pros: 1GB SD Card, Large Screen, Good Software
Cons: Bad Radio, Wears and Tears easily

This player is really good. I love the color and the rubber finish of it. It has a very detailed Status screen. It can take 1GB SD Cards.

Pros: Great price, size, and expandability for a solid-state MP3 Player
Cons: FM Tuner and Headphones are lacking

The Rio S30 Sport MP3 player is a compact, expandable, worth-while investment. Simply rip your music, drag-and-drop it to the player, and hit the street for a nice long jog. This player has a great display, easy-to-use controls, and even a stop-watch to keep your pace. Haven't tried the arm-band, but the belt-clip fits very snuggly around the player -- almost too snug. The FM tuner is weak at best, the headphones are not the best, but hey -- get a pair of SONY sport headphones for $10 and your off and running.

For the money, this is a great little MP3. I like it for the SD Card compatibility -- the card slips inside along with the battery and is very well protected.

Pros: Love the sport option...great to work out with
Cons: Difficulty getting the belt clip on and off the mp3 player to put battery in

This is my first mp3 player and I absolutely love it! I love the compactness and versatility. It's easy to use and great for working out with. The expansion slot is a great option...almost a necessary option in order to get a good selection of music on it. Over all it is a great product for someone who is just looking for a basic mp3 player.

The only thing that is tricky is I've had a hard time getting the belt clip cover to come off the mp3 player in order to change the battery...

Pros: Backlit display, sound quality, software.
Cons: The carrying case

I picked up this player a couple days ago, and found the software very simple to install and use. The player itself if great, although the case is a piece of junk if you ask me. Besides the case, I really only have one problem, and that is that I've read on other reviews on Epinions, that you can recharge the NiMH batteries through the USB port, and I specifically went out and bought these batteries for the sole purpose of doing this. I popped one in, and the battery life was at about half, and left it on, and plugged into the USB port, and when I came back an hour later, the battery had drained to almost nothing. I tried the same thing with the unit actually off, and came up with nothing as well. I called RIO and they said you can't charge the batteries through the USB port, so I was wondering if someone could explain how exactly they got their unit to accomplish this! THank you.

backstabber17@hotmail.com

Pros: worked good for first 4 months, great sport mp3
Cons: locks up

I was stoked to get my new Rio S30 mp3 last December. It was working great until 4 moths later, it starts saying "UPGRADER" on the screen. I tried turning it off and turning it back on, but nothing happened. So I tried to update the Firmware, but it failed. So I called the Tech Support and told them my problem. They told me to update the Firmware, so I tried and it failed once again. Then they finally told me, "Oh, you'll have to return that for repairs." Save your 100$ for repairs and get a mp3 worth getting.

This is my 3rd MP3 Player and it's the best one so far. This is a solid player and great for the gym. The clips is secure and the material is very durable. I replaced the headphones and wish there was a lock feature, but I'm very pleased with this one.

I am a sales Rep with the 3rd largest supplier of computer hard/software products and liked the Rio S30S. Trying to find the upgradable memory is a joke and even worse try calling Rio/Sonic Blue 206-515-1400 customer service for yourself. It will take you about 40 minutes. I will never support this company again. They should make themselves available to the customers that make their company exist.

I run on average 30-35 miles a week and have taken my Rio sport with me since December. I've droped it, got it rained and snowed on, left it in my car on very cold nights and it continues to perform like it did from day one. Software and player are very user firendly. Tuner is lousy, but I rarely have the desire to use anything other than the digital music player. Overall a solid investment. I recomend it to anyone wanting a light, easy to use, affordable sport player.

the player is worth the money, it does everything it says it will do and the mmc card is easily found in your local fry's or in any other big ellectronics store. the only thing is i wish it had is more memmory and better reception. well, so far its the best investment i've made as far as mp3 players are concerned.

I bought it so I wouldn't have to put up with frequent, long commericals and I could work out without getting annoyed. You definitely need to download the manual in order to figure out hte advanced features, but I think it was worth the investment. Does exactly what it says it does.

The sound quality is very good. The features are amazing, with a stop watch, fm tuner, equalizer, and a clock, it is one of the most complete players around. 64 internal mb, and 128 upgradable is a plus too. Ths price, at around 150$ is also a great deal. The player comes with a usb cable, a clip on to your belt device, a wrist band, software to store all you mp3s, and one NIMH rechargable battery.

The sound quality drops off when running or even walking. It dropped off so badly that very often it would stop all together (freezes). The customer support from RIO is so poor, my e-mail requests have only generated automated responses about rio volts and one non automated response asking what battery I was using. (The answer to which was the battery it came with). I like the idea of the MP3 player "desgined for the athelete in mind." However one that works I think is also quite important.